This invention relates to apparatus for mounting optical sights or other weapon accessories. More specifically, this invention relates to apparatus for mounting weapon accessories (e.g. optical sights, laser range finders, night scopes, etc.) at a reduced distance relative to the position of the barrel of a weapon.
Universal weapon mounts, such as the conventional and well known MIL-STD Picatinny weapon mount, are prolifically employed in the mounting of accessories (e.g. laser or optical sights, or laser range finders) on weapons for military and special unit police type operations. These mounts are conventionally attached proximal a midpoint of a weapon in order to provide a standardized mounting substrate to which various weapon accessories may be selectively attached. It is typical, in this regard, that a weapon accessory not be attached directly to the universal weapon mount which is being employed. Instead, a mount adaptor is normally utilized which is attachable to a weapon accessory at one surface and to a conventional universal weapon mount (e.g. the Picatinny mount) at a standardized second surface.
Typical universal weapon mounts conventionally comprise a body having a seating surface which is shaped to conform to a mounting area of a weapon (e.g. the barrel) so that it may be secured integral thereto. On an opposite (normally upward or sideways facing) surface, the universal weapon mount body conventionally includes four longitudinally extending rail structures (i.e. rails). These rail structures are provided so that accessories, typically optical or laser sights for example, may be mounted to the universal weapon mount using mount adaptor devices which are able to grip the sides or edges of the rails. Each rail structure, in turn, has located thereon a plurality of ribs extending perpendicular along each rail structures length. The ribs, which are often provided with visual location indicia (e.g. numbers or letters), provide a reference point so that specific locations may be reliably and repeatably located along the rail (e.g. the mounting location to which an optical sight is bore sighted).
As aforesaid, mount adaptor devices are typically employed because a weapon accessory (e.g. optical sight, laser sight or night vision sight) is ordinarily not designed for direct attachment to the rails of universal weapon mount systems. When employed, however, these mount adaptors, because of their thickness and the manner in which they attach to the universal weapon mount rails, normally raise the position of the accessory relative to the body or the barrel of the weapon. This presents a variety of problems.
When employing optical sights, for example, any increase in distance of the sight from the bore of the barrel of the weapon increases the probability that parallax sighting errors will occur. This increases the difficulty of sighting the weapon and reduces the weapon user""s targeting efficiency in combat scenarios. In addition, when any type of accessory is employed in a raised position on a weapon, such accessory is vulnerable to impacts with objects in the field and is additionally susceptible to snags on branches, brush, or barbed wire for example.
In view of the foregoing, it is apparent that there exists a need in the art for weapon accessory mount apparatus which overcomes, mitigates, or solves the above problems in the art. It is a purpose of this invention to fulfill this and other needs in the art which will become more apparent to the skilled artisan once given the following disclosure.
Generally speaking, this invention fulfills the above-described needs in the art by providing: a mount apparatus for mounting a weapon accessory to a universal weapon mount having at least one rail, the at least one rail including a plurality of ribs disposed thereon, the plurality of ribs defining a plurality of spaces comprising channels, each channel having a width and a depth, and each channel being spaced a distance Cd from the adjacent channel; the mount apparatus comprising:
a frame comprising a first longitudinal frame member and a second longitudinal frame member, the first longitudinal frame member being spaced from the second longitudinal frame member; and the first longitudinal frame member including a rail engaging surface;
means for attaching a weapon accessory to the mount apparatus;
biasing means operable to bias the rail engaging surface against a first rail surface of a universal weapon mount; and
at least one cross member which connects the first longitudinal frame member to the second longitudinal frame member; the at least one cross member being a size and so oriented such that the cross member nests substantially within the width and depth of a channel of a universal weapon mount when the mount apparatus is attached to the universal weapon mount.
In a further embodiment there is provided: a mount apparatus for mounting a weapon accessory to a universal weapon mount having at least one rail, the at least one rail including a plurality of ribs disposed thereon, the plurality of ribs defining a plurality of spaces comprising channels, each channel having a width and a depth, and each channel being spaced a distance Cd from the adjacent channel; the mount apparatus comprising:
a frame comprising a first longitudinal frame member and a second longitudinal frame member, the first longitudinal frame member being spaced from the second longitudinal frame member;
means for attaching a weapon accessory to the mount apparatus;
biasing means operable to attach the mount apparatus to a universal weapon mount; and
at least one cross member which connects the first longitudinal frame member to the second longitudinal frame member; the at least one cross member being a size and so oriented such that the cross member nests substantially within the width and depth of a channel of a universal weapon mount when the mount apparatus is attached to the universal weapon mount.
This invention will now be described with respect to certain embodiments thereof as illustrated in the following drawings wherein: